There are many types of roadbed. One of the top choices is a compressed paper product called Homosote. Homosote’s major advantage appears to be that spikes or nails will stay in the roadbed.
It’s major disadvantage is that it must be kerfed to bend it and kerfing creates a lot of fine paper dust. It should be sealed, especially in southern and humid areas where insects like silver fish are prevalent. For these reasons, Train Buddy does not stock Homosote.
Cork has none of these issues and so it is used more in the south and is stocked.
We understand that Homosote may still be the desired product, especially by those that have used it successfully in the past. In the Raleigh area the following instructions are valuable to purchasing Homosote.
Dave Van Hook commented, “Homosote is available at Diamond Hill Products on Tarheel Drive in Raleigh. They are a wholesale business so the product must be bought through a retailer. I went to Stocks and they told me to go to DHP, ask for the product, then call Stocks and Stocks would call DHP to complete the sale. Stocks pays DHP, bills your credit card, and you pick up the product right then & there. Sounds complicated but it’s not.”